Understanding the OASIS+ Symphony Portal

Use this information to understand how to work within Symphony for the GSA OASIS+ solicitation(s).  

The OASIS+ Submission Portal (OSP) requires OASIS+ offerors to use the URL idiq.gsa.gov and includes Small Businesses (SB), Woman-owned Small Businesses (WOSB), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB), HUBZone, 8(a), and an Unrestricted solicitation. 

Step 1. Understand the User-Specific Dashboard

After logging in, Symphony will display a user-specific dashboard for the available solicitations (See Figure 1). 

Figure 1. The Symphony Dashboard with a Solicitations tab

The Solicitation Details

The solicitation details will include the Q&A deadline and the Solicitation Deadline. 

• When the Solicitations are open to submissions, users can start, continue, or view an offer. 
• Users cannot reset or cancel a Domain submission once started. 
• The OASIS+ Symphony Portal has a Star icon to mark a submission as a favorite so users can toggle to their favorites for quick access to their offers (See Figure 2). 

Figure 2. The Symphony Dashboard toggled to the Favorites tab

Administration

Only a Symphony Administrator has access to the Administration link (See Using Symphony’s Administrative Features). A Symphony Administrator can activate additional users after they register in the same instance of Symphony. 

Help and Information

Review the knowledge base or create a support ticket. 

• Users will receive a response within four business hours unless a firewall is preventing our messages from being delivered. 
• Check the junk/spam folders for client.support@apexlogic.com. 
• The help desk is only obligated to respond to tickets that are received at least 36 hours in advance of the RFP deadline.

Step 2. Utilize the My Company link

My Company is for building the company asset library before the submission period or in addition to it. Make sure it is for the UEI and Cage for the company that will be the prime entity for the offer. 

Company Overview

The Company Overview includes Team Members, MRCLs, Projects/Past Performance, and Business Factors. The company asset library is reusable across all offers and Symphony is designed so that users can claim anything with supporting documentation (See Figure 3).

Figure 3. The My Company page is the asset library 

Business Factors will display circles next to the items on the Overview screens. Team members have their own business factors. MRCLs are considered part of the Prime. 

Company SAM Data

SAM data is pulled directly from the public SAM record. Out-of-date or incorrect information must be updated at SAM.gov and given 24-48 hours to reflect in their database. The Symphony screen is for display purposes only. The SAM record is the official record. If the information is showing correctly in SAM, do not worry about any discrepancies within Symphony (See Understanding the SAM Connection).

Company Team Members

Team Members can be added and then viewed or removed as needed (See Working with Team Members & MRCLs). 

• Team Members must be added to Symphony before they can be added to Projects/Past Performances. 
• Their business factors and documents, which include JV agreements, Mentor-Protege Agreements, and Subcontractor Letters of Commitment, can be entered in this section. 
• Symphony allows users to add different team members to separate domain submissions. 

Company MRCL(s)

Add MRCL(s), the type of relationship, MRCL agreements, and other documents. Then view, edit, or remove as needed. Users can add different MRCL(s) to separate domain submissions, but the MRCL(s) Business Factors are considered part of the prime offerors. 

Company Projects and Past Performance

Figure 4. Add projects in the My Company page before starting a submission

1. Add Projects/Past Performance, and then view, edit, or delete projects as needed. 
2. Define a project and complete the core details for the project (See Documenting Projects/Past Performance). 
3. Use the Performance Factors option to add more focused claims to the Project experience and earn points for the criteria in the OASIS+ Domain Qualifications Matrix in a submission. 

Tagging Explanation

Tagging is like the "Find" feature in software systems. 

• Tags are up to the users (See Tagging Documents). 
• A keyword in a document can be entered into the tag field, also known as the "location in file". 

At evaluation, Symphony will find all instances of the "tag" in one or more documents that are selected for the file reference field. 

• Evaluators can navigate the tags using the same features as the Adobe comment pane. 
• The evaluator will see everything entered in the "location in file" field.
• Symphony will not prompt users to search for tags in a web browser.
  
  

Company Business Factors

Business Factors are additional assets to claim. These include Systems, Industry Certifications, Clearances, Human Resources information, Financial Documents, and Other Documents relevant to the company asset library (See Claiming Business Factors). 

• The OSP will provide red warning messages in the offeror's proposal if an offeror's 'Responsibility' documentation appears to be missing the required Business Factors. 
• The warning messages will not prevent submission.

Company Cost/Price

Only one cost/price submission may be submitted and it must be from the offeror. 

1. Upload the completed pricing spreadsheet as provided by the OASIS+ RFP and include a Basis of Estimate (BOE) to support the Cost/Price methodology. 
2. Certify the claim and save the changes. 

Users can view, edit, or delete documents as needed by following the same process as Business Factors. Symphony will provide any validation errors found in the template when users review a submission.

Company Documents

View all files users upload in their corresponding folders in the Documents library. Users cannot upload or remove documents from the Document Library (See Frequently Asked Questions). 

Step 3. Assemble the Offer 

Proposal Overview

The Proposal Overview summarizes the information entered in Symphony, such as Team Members, MRCLs, Project Experience, and other Business Factors relevant to the solicitation. Links to the Document Library and the SAM data are also at the bottom of this page for reference (See Figure 5).

Figure 5. The proposal Submission displays the solicitation name and Live Score at the top of the page

Select the Live Score button displayed at the top right corner of the screen to review the Scorecard. 

Proposal Contacts

Add the key personnel required for the submission, such as the Contract Manager and Program Manager (See Managing the Proposal Contacts).

Proposal Team Members

Team Members, their business factors, and documentation are added to each submission and then viewed or removed as needed. Users can have different team members for each offer. 

Proposal MRCL(s)

Existing MRCL(s) in the Company Asset Library can be selected from the drop-down menu to add to the submission. Users can have different MRCL(s) for separate proposals and project experiences. 

Proposal Projects and Past Performance

Select from the projects in Symphony and add them to the submission from a drop-down menu before using the Begin or modify button by the Performance Factors for domain-specific scoring elements (See Figure 6). 

Figure 6. Performance Factors tell Symphony and evaluators how to score a project

• Users can reference multiple documents and select or deselect these references as needed.
• Provide reference tags so the 'location in file' field can help the evaluation team "Jump To" the tag(s) in the document(s). Or they can use this field as a reference to "Find" the evidence. 
• Remember, we tend to use an overarching keyword for the solicitation-specific factors for simplicity and consistency.

Proposal Business Factors

Business factors relevant to each domain and solicitation are automatically added to a submission. This screen is read-only. Return to My Company to make changes. 

Proposal Submission Documents

This area allows users to upload the solicitation-required form(s) (SF-33, SF-30, etc.) when the option is enabled (See Uploading Solicitation Documents). 

Proposal Document Library

The Document Library contains all files included in an offer. The files must only remain until submission. 

Proposal Review

Review all the information contained in an offer on this screen. 

Step 4. Submit a Proposal

The Submit function is not available until after the Q&A deadline or the government enables the option. If the government needs to make amendments to the solicitation, this prevents users from having to submit an offer multiple times (See Figure 7).

Figure 7. Staff users are not authorized to submit a proposal

• An offer can be certified and submitted from this screen by Administrators or the Open Market Proposal Manager even with messages stating that requirements are incomplete. 
• Warning and error messages are also displayed to the evaluators.
• Once submitted, Symphony will display the submission date and time, with the option to view the details. Use this option to save a copy of the offer.
• An Administrator or Proposal Manager can retract a submission and make edits until the solicitation deadline. Carefully review and resubmit if changes are made (See Updating a Proposal). 
• Once the Solicitation deadline is met, all assets are frozen.

Symphony Configuration Rules

• All requirements of the Request for Proposals (RFP) can be mapped directly to a location within the OSP.
• The OASIS+ solicitation instructs Offerors to provide supporting documentation for all claimed evaluation criteria and are encouraged to utilize comments (“tags”) in supporting documentation indicating the specific reference for verification purposes. To the maximum extent practicable, all proposal documents should be in Adobe (pdf) format, with the exception of Attachment J.P-9.
• While some sub-sections of Section L may indicate an Offeror shall provide a particular form of documentation for validation purposes, Offerors may provide additional verifiable documentation to validate any claimed credits and qualifications. 
• Offerors may also make minor formatting changes to Section K and Section J templates used in the proposal submission. For example, minor formatting changes include such things as adjusting page breaks, adding corporate identification logos, and including disclaimers of proprietary information.
• For offers that include proposal submissions to multiple Domains, items listed in Sections L.5.2, L.5.3, L.5.4, L.5.5, and L.5.6 need to be included within each Domain submission, as these are the scored elements. The OSP will allow Offerors to upload proposal assets and apply them across Domains. All offers are still required to include items listed in Section L.5.1, L.5.7, and L.5.8 as part of their overall proposal.
• The Offeror will be prompted to identify the company that performed each submitted project, as defined in Sections L.5.2 and L.5.3, and the performing company’s relationship to the Offeror. 
• For offers from SBA Mentor-Protégé joint ventures, a minimum of one Relevant Qualifying Project must be from the protégé or the offering Mentor-Protégé joint venture for each proposed Domain.
• Qualifying Projects submitted in the name of the protégé must only meet or exceed 50 percent of the “QP-Scale” value specified within Attachment J.P-1. This reduced threshold does not apply to projects submitted in the name of the offering MP-JV entity itself.

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